Broncos Hire Former LSU Coach as Pass Rush Specialist: Report

The Denver Broncos have added LSU defensive line coach Jamar Cain as a pass-rush specialist to new Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s first defensive support staff in his second stint in the Mile High City per the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

“The Broncos are hiring LSU run game coordinator/DL coach Jamar Cain as their pass rush specialist, per source,” Pelissero said via Twitter. “Cain’s name has been popular with NFL clubs in years past. Now he’ll join Sean Payton’s staff, working closely with the DL and OLBs under new DC Vance Joseph.”

Cain, a former defensive lineman who played at the JUCO level before finishing his career at New Mexico State, will be coaching for the first time at the NFL level. The 42-year-old Sacramento native has coached at Division I FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, Fresno State, Arizona State, Oklahoma, and LSU at previous stops.

Why Vance Joseph Was Hired as Defensive Coordinator

Sean Payton revealed the reason why he hired Joseph, who was previously Broncos head coach in 2017 and 2018, to be his first defensive coordinator in Denver — and it surprisingly had nothing to do with that head coaching stint.

“Rex [Ryan], Matt (Patricia), Sean Desai—all those guys—were outstanding.” Payton said on February 28 at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. “But in the end, there were a few things that I felt that Vance was going to bring—and not necessarily because he had experience in Denver—but really, more what he was able to do, believe it or not, in Arizona. That was a tough job for a number of years. So we’re excited to have him on our defensive staff.”

“I’ve admired Vance from afar,” Paton said. “I’ve never known him, heard a lot of really good things. We talked to a lot of different coaches, offensive coaches that have gone against Vance, and he’s hard. He’s hard to scheme against; he’s hard to go against,” Paton said during the NFL Combine this past weekend.”

Analyst Worries About Broncos’ Vance Joseph Hire

Though Payton and Paton had good things to say about Joseph, the Mile High Report’s Laurie Lattimore-Volkmann questions if his Broncos defense will be up to task of taking on AFC West quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.

“(Joseph’s) defenses have also given up a lot of points – and that doesn’t bode well in an offense-heavy division with some of the best QBs in the league (oh hello Patrick Super Bowl MVP Mahomes),” Lattimore-Volkmann wrote. “In fact, Joseph’s Cardinals allowed almost 26 points per game on average against the Chiefs – a team and QB that has stymied Joseph’s defenses. And in two playoff games with the Cardinals, his defenses allowed 34 points in one and 26 in the other.”

Lattimore-Volkmann’s assessment wasn’t all bad, though. The Mile High Report writer noted that Denver’s personnel fits his schemes well.

“Joseph runs an aggressive 3-4 defense, which pairs well with the current defensive roster and also appeals to Payton as he likes attacking defenses,” Lattimore-Volkmann wrote. “Joseph likes to blitz and his Cardinals did it more than one-third of the total snaps, third-most in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats.”